District 3 website for Premise Technicians welcome_prem_techs_to_cwa
PLEASE REMEMBER YOU
HAVE RIGHTS TO REPRESENTATION AND YOU NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT!!!
Many of you are continuing to go
into meetings with management and not request representation. It is your right
and choice, so why not take advantage of it. Please read and print the
Weingarten info from the April 21th posting.
If you have a situation you feel, think,
know, or believe warrants CWA attention download and fill out this form and or
don't hesitate to call your local at 850-478-3109
http://files.cwa-union.org/district3/ATTPremTechRecordofIssue.pdf Return
via email or fax to 850 474-1240
If you are threatend by ANYONE at work, please
use the ethics hotline to report it.
1-800 664-4231
WEAR
ORANGE ON THURSDAY TO SHOW YOUR UNION SOLIDARITY!!!!!
There are two avenues available to provide representation to Premises Technicians before we obtain a contract. First, now that CWA has been certified, Premises Technicians have full Weingarten rights. Second, as the certified exclusive collective bargaining representative, in the event a Premises Technician has a “grievance” about terms and conditions of employment, CWA has the legal right to demand a meeting with the Company to attempt to negotiate a resolution of the grievance. The following provides more specific guidance:
Weingarten Rights
As CWA has now been certified as the exclusive collective bargaining representative in the Premises Technician bargaining unit, under the National Labor Relations Act, as interpreted in the Board’s Weingarten decision, Premises Technicians have a right to request representation when asked by management to participate in an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline. However, only Premises Technicians are allowed to serve as such representatives. While this does present an opportunity for leadership development and establishing a network of representatives in this bargaining unit, this also presents a training challenge to assist Premises Technicians in getting up to speed to fulfill this representation role. The District Office can supply both training materials and staff to assist Locals in setting up this training. Until training can be set up, the following guidance should be considered:
(1) In order to trigger a right of representation under Weingarten, the interview with management must be an investigatory interview and the employee must have a reasonable belief that the interview could result in discipline. When in doubt ask.
(2) If the only purpose of the interview is to announce discipline that has already been decided upon, there is no right to representation. However, because an interview to announce discipline sometimes turns into an investigatory interview, it is recommended that Premises Technicians always ask for representation if they are called into the Boss’ office.
(3) Management has no legal obligation to offer representation, the employee must request it.
(4) If the circumstances are appropriate for a Weingarten representative, and management refuses, the Premises Technician should ask that the interview be terminated.
(5) The Weingarten representative must be an employee in the Premises Technician bargaining unit who is reasonably available. A Premises Technician cannot insist on someone from another location or who is not scheduled to work if there is another potential representative present and available.
(6) In a Weingarten interview, the designated representative stands on an equal footing with management and must be allowed to speak and ask questions. The representative should also be afforded a reasonable opportunity to confer with the employee before the interview begins and to ask for reasonable recesses during the course of the interview to confer, if necessary.
Representation by CWA
As the certified bargaining representative, CWA has a right to insist that the Company meet with at reasonable times and locations and bargain in good faith. This includes bargaining over Premises Technicians’ grievances concerning terms and conditions of employment. However, absent an agreement, CWA would not be able to force the Company to arbitrate unresolved grievances.
QUESTION:
What rights of representation do CWA Premises Technicians have prior to negotiating a contract?
ANSWER:Legally, we have two avenues to pursue.
First, now that CWA has been certified, Premises Technicians have full Weingarten rights. This means that any Premises Technician that is asked to participate in an investigatory interview with management that could lead to discipline has a right to demand that another employee be present and able to participate. This employee would essentially perform the same functions as a Union Steward in these circumstances. This presents an opportunity for leadership development and establishing a network of representatives in this bargaining unit.
Second, now that CWA has been certified as the exclusive bargaining representative in this bargaining unit, in the event a Premises Technician has a “grievance” about terms and conditions of employment, CWA has the legal right to demand a meeting with the Company to attempt to negotiate a resolution of the grievance. We hope to eventually develop a formal interim grievance procedure pending the negotiation of a complete contract.
Grievance issues from February 24 forward only. Can't be something that happen prior to the certification date.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weingarten_Rights?wasRedirected=true
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO INVOKE YOUR RIGHTS. YOU CAN NOT BE PUNISHED FOR INVOKING YOUR RIGHTS. Call and notify your local that you have notified the company that you want a union rep during their investigatory meeting.